After Seven Feats
by imo.b
Summary: This is the beginning of Harry and his friends life after Voldemort's defeat. The story picks up right after the end of the battle and begins with what I think would have happened in Harry's years beyond Hogwarts. A little bit more romance, humour and fun will be tossed in to lighten up the mood after the Dark Lord's reign!
1. A Tragic Victory

**All characters and ideas belong to J.K. Rowling who is a never ending inspiration to all my creative endeavours. The whole thing is dedicated to you J.K! Hopefully this story will progress into more than a chapter, I have lots of ideas, please let me know if anyone has something to contribute or give advice on :) By the way, my dad wrote a review from my account which was all too embarrassing so if you could kindly ignore that, I'm quite sorry, I hope you can understand proud and obsessed parents :P**

Chapter 1 – A Tragic Victory

Harry Potter was exhausted. In some absurd way, the thought of a warm soft bed made him happier than his recent victory over the world's darkest and most powerful wizard. Harry absentmindedly wandered the devastated halls of his once grand and majestic school. Hogwarts, a place that had always been indisputably safe in Harry's mind, had just been home to one of the wizarding world's most tragic battles.

He peered out of one of the high paneled windows and winced when he saw that even his beloved quidditch pitch had been burnt away until the only thing visible was a small Slytherin flag idly standing in the soil. Harry made a mental note to remove it and rip it into shreds when he had the time. He turned the corridor and gazed at what seemed like never-ending destruction. Hundreds of heavy stone bricks littered the surface of the ground. Harry also spotted several of Professor Trelawney's crystal balls rolling around in the wreckage. Objects that were once present had been so badly burnt that no one could even attempt to recognize them. Most of the portraits that hung on the walls were blacked out or torn apart so thoroughly it was as if someone was planning on doing paper maché with them.

A few students sat or lay in the corridor, gently nursing a friend or quietly weeping after the events of the battle. They were finally letting themselves feel what they couldn't have in the midst of the fight. A fight that ruined so much and so many. And this was the thought that raced endlessly through Harry's mind– did Voldemort's defeat that day really justify any of the lives lost? Surely Fred and Remus and Tonks and… Harry could not bear to remember any of his other friends, lost in a battle that he had begun. He was the reason that dozens of families around him wept, grieving over a loved one who fought so valiantly for their friends and family but would never talk or laugh with them again. However, Harry was well aware that he couldn't mention any of his woes to Ron or Hermione, or anyone for that matter. He knew they would say that Voldemort needed to die and that he was a hero.

Harry continued on his silent and solitary walk through the castle. He didn't mind that his two best friends were not with him since he knew Hermione and Ron were undoubtedly curled up somewhere, finally revealing years of unsaid things to each other. He was just as much happy as he was relieved that they had finally figured it out and he would no longer have to awkwardly ignore their obvious feelings for each other. He was also thankful that his friends could talk to each other, comfort each other. He knew only too well how unbearable their last year had been.

Harry continued to stray in lonely passages of Hogwarts, knowing exactly whom he wanted to talk to and feeling anguish rapidly boiling up inside him as he thought of her. Ginny. The only person who could make him feel lighter than air. An unfailing and constant source of happiness. But would she even be happy to see him? Her brother was _dead_. Fred Weasley was gone and Harry knew his death would hang over the Burrow forever. Harry was anxious about making an appearance at the Great Hall, where he knew Fred's body lay with several heartbroken red headed family members around him. He knew it was shameful to be afraid of facing them but if he saw anger in any of their eyes, he did not think he could bear it. They were after all his family and he felt responsible for all the hurt they now had to bear.

But Harry knew it was time to go, he couldn't bear to be away from Ginny's side for another minute. He had spent so many cold and lonely nights in the recent months thinking of her, that he owed it to himself to at least look into to her big brown eyes.

He fumbled slowly down the moving staircase and into the Great Hall. His stomach sunk when he saw the enormous amount of injured people, covering nearly every surface of the blood stained ground. It was the most tragic victory he had ever witnessed. Had this battle done more harm than good?

Harry could not take the time to ponder his fears since he had just spotted the Weasleys, crowded around Fred just as he'd imagined. His heart ached as he drew closer. Molly Weasley was sobbing loudly into her husband's shoulder. And George…there was nothing but an agonized silent stare emanating from his hollow face. Harry unwillingly lowered his eyes to Fred. His dead body was drained of all colour, his clothes drenched in his own blood. Despite his horrific state, a faint smile still coloured his pale face, reminding everyone what kind of person Fred Weasley was– the most gleeful and good-hearted man you could ever meet. He and George had so often provided the cure for Harry's distress, their mischief and pranks had played such a big role in his own trouble making and amusement at Hogwarts.

"Harry" Mrs. Weasley said. Harry turned to her, seeing a tired and depleted woman looking back at him. The anger Harry was afraid might be in Molly Weasley's eyes was nowhere to be seen, instead the overly kind and loving woman took Harry into his arms and held him until he allowed some tears to escape his wide green eyes and trickle gently onto her shoulder. He knew then that the Weasleys would never blame him for what happened. He still doggedly believed that he did not deserve this kindness, but he could not help the joy and relief that flooded over him. They were after all the closest thing he had to a family, and they had treated him like one of their own for seven years. He proceeded to hug each Weasley huddled around Fred, exchanging sorrowing and knowing looks with each in turn. Suddenly he was struck with the realization that Ginny was not present in the Great Hall, this was very odd…

"Mrs. Weasley, where's Ginny? I thought she'd be here" He looked at her, worry spreading across his face.

"Oh, she needed to see Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing, or what's left of it. She'll be fine, but come to think of it, it would be lovely if you went and checked on her" she said with a sob. Harry didn't even wait to to ask what had happened to Ginny, not wanting to believe she had even got so much as a scratch from the battle. He dashed from the Great Hall and down the corridor, which led to the hospital wing.

Every remaining hospital bed that hadn't been crushed in the wreckage was housing one or two injured people. Harry's eyes scanned the room until he spotted a familiar mane of red hair near the back of the long candle-lit room. Ginny was curled up on the ground, staring into space with an expressionless look on her face. Even looking at her made butterflies form in Harry's chest, as if he were a jittery first year. As he approached, Ginny's sunken eyes found Harry's and she gave him a small tired smile. As Harry came closer, he noticed that she was covered from head to toe in dirt and soot, her long red hair was full of small bits of debris, with a couple of greasy strands clinging to her pale face. To his horror, Harry then realized Ginny's pant leg had been ripped open, a deep crimson oozing eerily into a puddle around her.

"Ginny! Who did this to you?" Harry nearly screamed the words at her; furious at himself for not realizing she was in a all alone, blood seeping from her delicate body.

"Harry listen, I'm fine" Ginny started in a weary voice, he could tell she was in pain, perhaps even holding back tears. "Some slimey death eater jinxed me from behind." Ginny could tell that Harry was not entirely satisfied with her answer and continued reassuringly, "It'll heal quickly but there's a lot of people who need help first."

Harry relaxed a little and stared into her light brown eyes. Even despite the wreckage the battle had caused to Ginny's appearance, her face was illuminating to him.

"Ginny… I.. I um" Harry wanted to tell her how much he loved her. How she was often the only thing that forced him to continue on his quest to defeat Tom Riddle. That he never wanted to leave her side again.

"Shut it Harry" Ginny said, a small grin curling on her lips, "you don't have to talk now. We have lots of time to talk." And with that, she feebly extended her hand which Harry gladly accepted as he gently placed himself beside her on the floor. Ginny softly sunk her head into his shoulder and the two fell instantly asleep. Their dreams, like many dreams to come, were full of sunken corpses, shadowy figures, and heart-wrenching and terrible loss.


	2. Rest and Restoration

Chapter 2 – Rest and Restoration

The days seemed to pass Harry by like a darting golden snitch; with so much going on around him he was barely able to process his thoughts, let alone figure out what was to become of his now bright and beckoning future. Before Voldemort's defeat Harry only ever saw an ominously darkened image of his life after Hogwarts, but now most of the darkness in that picture was fading away. There would be a future for him and there were many decisions to make.

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys stayed on at Hogwarts to be a part of the restoration team, though their real motivation was avoiding returning home where Burrow life without Fred might be too much to bear. During the day they would explore parts of the castle looking for unrepaired damage, waving their wands accordingly in a determined attempt to restore the school's grand hallways and chambers. Grawp and a few of his gigantic firends arrived to give their condolences for those lost and proceeded to help in any way they could, mostly lifting heavy stones and shattered fragments of the castle that littered the grounds.

Harry spent much of this time in the defence against the dark arts room that had evidently been used as a detention and torture facility during the recent school year at Hogwarts. When Harry questioned Neville, Ginny, and Luna about his suspicions they grimaced and said nothing of it except that it was called "The Punishment Chamber". Harry saw fear in their eyes when they said it and he could tell that whatever had happened in there haunted them still. The thought of any student at Hogwarts being tortured, let alone Ginny and his other friends, was too horrifying for Harry to bear and he set out to remove any remaining dark magic and enchanted instruments from the room. The more he uncovered and confiscated, the more he knew just how malicious the Carrows had been.

The Gryffindor common room, mostly untouched from the battle, housed most of the reconstruction team. Here families could sit in silence and watch the gleaming fire while they rested after the day's toil. Several house elves stayed on in the kitchens and prepared enormous amounts of food for the hard-working reconstruction crew. Mrs. Weasley, accustomed to controlling the kitchen, had a hard time accepting so many meals being placed in front of her. Desperately needing to find an outlet for her grief, she began wandering down the kitchens at night and frying up large quantites of sausages and eggs. Despite the efforts of both the elves and Mrs. Weasley, Harry and the other Weasleys looked thinner and more gaunt everyday. Arthur Weasley seemed to be suffering the most of all, his customary cheerfulness had disappeared and could not be mustered even with effort. Although everyone present at Hogwarts desperately tried to be happy about their immense victory, knowing it was surely what Fred wanted, few seemed to be able to smile for longer than a moment. Not even an amusing game of exploding snap could pull a laugh out of George.

When he had the time, Harry would wander down to the lake and think about all that had happened. More often than not he found himself spreading out under one of the wide oak tree trunks, thoughts weaving in and out of his mind as he slowly fell asleep. He wondered if he would ever fully make up for the amount of rest he had lost while camping out in a cold and dreary tent for so many months, always overcome with worry and thinking of Ginny and the others, anxiously wondering if they were safe, or even alive at all. Harry had hoped that some sense of completion would come after the Dark Lord was forever departed from his life; instead found himself overcome with guilt and grief, the loss of his friends looming over his head like a thick swarm of nargles.

On one of these tranquil visits to the lake, on a particularly sunny June afternoon, Harry was suddenly wakened by Ron shaking him. "Mate, you sleep like lunatic!" Ron muttered as he plopped himself down beside Harry, Hermione in tow.

Harry then heard Ginny's voice crossly retorting, "It's well-deserved Ronald." Ginny walked towards the water, bent down to pick up a smooth white rock from the shore and sent it skimming across the lake. All four sets of eyes watched as the rock bounced gracefully eight times then softly sunk into the murky depths of the water.

Hermione looked fixedly at Harry and he knew that she had something she desperately needed to bring to his attention. "Harry, Ron and I have been talking and we think that I really ought to go find my parents."

"In Australia?" Harry replied, almost having forgotten that Hermione's parents were somewhere in Australia, both under deep memory charms that Hermione herself had placed on them.

"And I'm going with her" Ron said in a confident and protective voice. Harry smiled at them, knowing that the two sought only each other's companionship and needed to make this journey alone. He had come to terms with the fact that Ron and Hermione would be spending time without him and, contrary to his expectations, he was feeling much more happy than envious about the matter. He only hoped that the gap they were leaving would be filled by Ginny. Harry gazed wistfully at Ginny, who was still skipping stones across the lake, her long red hair glimmering in the late afternoon sun. He knew that Ginny still loved him, but there was still so much to talk about and he didn't think either of them had the capacity to speak of their recent pasts for longer than ten minutes. Harry drifted into a warm memory of Ginny… their last kiss in her small, bright bedroom and…

"Harry? Did you hear me?" Hermione's voice darted through his daydreams and Harry suddenly realized he had not given her an answer.

Harry pulled himself back, "Of course you need to go, let me know if I can help with any planning. How do you expect to find them?" Hermione looked down at her hands anxiously, a depleted expression creeping over her face.

Ron quickly piped in, "We're not quite sure exactly where to go but I'm sure it'll be easy to track them down by magic. We know they're keen on bird watching and heck, if it takes a while, who cares? We'll be in Australia!" Ron's reassuring attitude calmed Hermione down, who perked up slightly but still looked worried. After all Australia was an enormous place with no shortage of bird watchers or dentists.

"You two will be fine" Harry added, very certain that Hermione's brains could accomplish almost anything. "Just don't keep my best mate away too long Hermione" he added jokingly, patting Ron on the back and leaning over to hug Hermione.

"But Harry, what are you planning on doing? I know you're thinking about something, I could sense it since the day after the battle" Hermione said, putting on her classic concerned-Hermione face.

Harry was hesitant to reply, since he had little idea of what was actually going on in his head, "I think there's something else I have to do. I know it sounds crazy, but something's just not right. I feel like now that everything's over I'm meant to…" Harry's mind was racing, what _was_ he supposed to do now? "Well, I don't know, but there's something missing."

Ron sighed, "You've done enough mate, stop beating yourself up." Ron, who was devastated about his brother's death, also had an overflowing source of happiness– Hermione. Although he suffered through horrible nightmares and thought he sometimes heard Fred's laugh echoing in his head, he found that he was able to cope better than his family members with the recent tragedies. He was proud of being the strong Weasley for once, and knew that there were many siblings who needed a shoulder to cry on. He also wanted his friend Harry to find some relief, he knew only too well how much Harry had suffere. Although his fame and feats had often made Ron jealous in the past, now he wanted only to help ease Harry's burden.

Hermione knew that Harry could never rest, not even now after everything he had done. She had learned over the years of knowing Harry that the best cure for him was action. She calmly suggested, "I think you should go to Dumbledore's office. There might be something in there that will spark whatever this feeling is."

Harry looked at her–"I think you're right. If only it wasn't off limits I would have been there already."

"Talk to someone about it, McGonagall maybe. Harry, I think they'd do anything for you" Hermione said. When Harry nodded that he would give it a try, comfort grew inside her. If Harry had a goal set in his head she knew he would start to be happy again. He would never relax, in fact if there wasn't evil around for him to fight, she doubted he would know what to do with himself.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, exchanging silent words and Hermione softly muttered: " well we'd better get packing, see you back at the castle Harry." Harry nodded again and waved as his friends rose and proceeded hand in hand back to Hogwarts.

Harry shifted his gaze back to Ginny who was now sitting on the shore's edge, her bare feet slightly skimming the water and her face tilted upwards towards the setting sun. Harry thought she might actually be sleeping while sitting upright, but then she gently turned her head towards Harry and met his eye. Harry couldn't help but smile at this beautiful brown-eyed girl, his heart racing. Harry was eager to go to Dumbledore's office to sort out whatever anxious beast was growing inside him, but for now, that could wait. There was another beast breathing inside him now. The same one that had longed for Ginny all those months in sixth year. The one who had sadly sulked for all those months while camping with Ron and Hermione. For now, she was enough…


End file.
